The Ukrainian citizen who was extradited from Belgium last summer for murdering a compatriot in Moldova got 17 years. The Râşcani branch of the Chisinau City Prosecutor’s Office, which asked for life detention for the culprit, intends to challenge the sentence as too mild, IPN reports.

Two years ago, in May 2018, the body of a man with signs of violence was discovered in a well near Grătieşti commune of Chisinau municipality. It was established that the victim, a citizen of Ukraine, was a former member of the Rada on behalf of Zhitomir region, aged 59.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the ex-MP came to Chisinau in the evening of May 15, 2018 to meet with the culprit and his accomplice, who were both citizens of Ukraine, with whom he arranged a meeting beforehand. The two took him by a car and, on the way, strangulated him and threw the body in a well near Grătieşti. Immediately after the crime, the culprits fled Moldova.

Last summer, one of them was arrested in Belgium and was extradited to Moldova for being held accountable. The other man is still wanted. He is investigated in a separate case.

When being questioned by prosecutors, the accused refused to make statements. It was determined that the murder was planned beforehand and the accused lured the victim to Moldova, hoping this way that they will not be identified and held accountable for murder.